A Separate Peace
by O'Laugh-a-Lot
Summary: Remus Lupin was welcomed into his heaven by his old friends. But who would come to greet Severus as he entered the void?


_Disclaimer--_I am not the owner of Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish I was that bloody brilliant. I also didn't think up this title, clever though it is. It belongs to John Knowles, author of _A Separate Peace._ It's a rather good book, you should read it.

**Title:** A Separate Peace

**Author: **Draco Malfoy Equals Love (aka Erin). I should really change my penname, it's rather ridiculous.

**Rating:** K+ (just in case, 'cause I'm paranoid some random ten-year-old will get mad a me for putting kissing in. ;)

**Summary: **Remus Lupin was welcome into heaven by his old friends. But who would come to greet Severus Snape as he entered the void?

**A/N:** I'm writing this anyway, though I'm sure that if you're actually reading this you've had enough of my chatter. Anywhoo, I thought up the idea after reading _A New Beginning_, another fan-fiction here, though at the moment I'm too lazy to go and look who it's by. I thought, hey, I wrote one of these for Remus, what about Snape? So I wrote this at literally 11:30 last night because I couldn't sleep if I didn't write it. It's very short, only two pages on Microsoft Word. But I'm pretty satisfied with it. D Enjoy! -is shutting up now-

A Separate Peace

_by Draco Malfoy Equals Love  
__(Erin)_

It was dark.

Dark and quiet. Two aspects of a room that for most people would make the room undesirable to enter: Two traits that for Severus Snape made a room worthwhile.

An implacable amount of time had passed in this room—perhaps a millisecond, perhaps eternity. Severus Snape had no way of knowing how long he'd been lying on the shapeless floor in the shapeless black. He had no way of knowing how long snatches of the last moments of his life had been flashing through him.

He remembered the terror that had gripped him as he looked upon his Lord, the horror he had felt when Voldemort revealed his reasons for calling him from the castle. He saw again the snake reaching for him, felt again the excruciating pain of poisonous fangs piercing his neck. He remembered the threatening pulses of darkness and the sounds of the Dark Lord leaving the room.

And suddenly there had been a pair of eyes above him. Startlingly green, almond-shaped eyes. Was it Lily, forgiving him at last, coming to take him into the abyss? But no, there was a glint of glass there, and with his fading mind he recognized the boy he'd died for. He hardly remembered grasping Harry's robes and pulling him close. He was scarcely sure he'd whispered for the Boy-Who-Lived to take the memories pouring from him. But above all else, he remembered the finality of the wave of black closing around him and the last thing he saw before darkness—green, almond-shaped eyes.

And then, he was here (wherever "here" was) and he became aware of his body, all pain gone. And suddenly, there was light.

The eyes were above him again. But now a curtain of glossy red hair fell around him, lightly brushing his cheek and framing the face before his eyes. For moments, he could only gaze into the emerald depths of the almond eyes above him. But suddenly, he drew a shuddering breath and sat up, causing the person leaning over him to straighten quickly.

"Lily!" he cried, his eyes raking her face, delving into the kindness of her gaze.

"Hello, Severus," she whispered.

And at that, Severus Snape, Hogwarts' Potions master for over sixteen year, the greasy and cold and cruel bat of the dungeons got on his knees and cried. Wild emotions ravaged him—fear, grief, joy, exhilaration, shame, and love. Lily had come for him after all.

Lily bent again and extended her hand to the now sobbing Snape, who took it and rained wet, sloppy kisses across the back of it.

"Severus," she said softly again, but Snape stopped her from continuing.

"I'M SORRY!" he roared, shaking with remorse. "I'm sorry, Lily, I'm so, so sorry! I could apologize for years and it wouldn't be enough, I know. I'm sorry for calling you a Mudblood, I'm sorry I never listened to you about my friends. I'm sorry I sent Voldemort after you, I'm sorry I couldn't stop him. I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry…" he trailed off, the anguish in his voice echoing in his motions, tearfully gripping her hand, still on his knees.

Lily sank to her own knees, her beautiful green, almond-shaped eyes spilling with tears. She looked into his black eyes, which were wide and full of pain. "No, Severus. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't forgive you that day. Maybe none of this would have happened. I was stupid, Sev."

The sound of his old nickname sent him to the floor, positively howling with grief. He felt soft fingers running carefully through his hair as he tried to calm himself, hiccupping, his nose pressed to the soft, clean ground. Once he regained control, he looked up at Lily again, and she gave a watery chuckle.

"You look a bloody mess, Sevvy."

Snape reluctantly broke into a grin, his first in many, many years. Quickly, though, he sobered again. "I love you, Lily."

"I know. I've always known. I've always loved you, too. This would have b-been different, if only I forgave you. Oh, Severus, I made a terrible mistake that day." She was on the verge of tears again. "But I'm so grateful for what you did for H-Harry. So grateful." She kissed him softly.

As they broke apart, Severus whispered against her lips, "Anything for you, Lils." He brought their lips together again.

And here, Severus Snape was at peace.

**A/N:** I told you it was amazingly short. But I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Please review. It'll make me happy! D And yes, I could have gone on with it, but I was satisfied with where it was. And I was tired. hehe.


End file.
